Return On Capital Employed Overview: Alaska Air Group

During Q4, Alaska Air Group's (NYSE:ALK) reported sales totaled $808.00 million. Despite a 4.2% in earnings, the company posted a loss of $595.00 million. Alaska Air Group collected $701.00 million in revenue during Q3, but reported earnings showed a $571.00 million loss.

What Is ROCE?

Changes in earnings and sales indicate shifts in Alaska Air Group's Return on Capital Employed, a measure of yearly pre-tax profit relative to capital employed by a business. Generally, a higher ROCE suggests successful growth of a company and is a sign of higher earnings per share in the future. In Q4, Alaska Air Group posted an ROCE of -0.2%.

It is important to keep in mind ROCE evaluates past performance and is not used as a predictive tool. It is a good measure of a company's recent performance, but several factors could affect earnings and sales in the near future.

Return on Capital Employed is an important measurement of efficiency and a useful tool when comparing companies that operate in the same industry. A relatively high ROCE indicates a company may be generating profits that can be reinvested into more capital, leading to higher returns and growing EPS for shareholders.

For Alaska Air Group, the return on capital employed ratio shows the current amount of assets may not actually be helping the company achieve higher returns, a note many investors will take into account when making long-term financial decisions.

Q4 Earnings Insight

Alaska Air Group reported Q4 earnings per share at $-2.55/share, which beat analyst predictions of $-2.87/share.